St. Martin's In the Desert

Month: October 2020

  • All Saints Day, 2020

    All Saints Day Nov2020 Let us pray:

    Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

    Today we celebrate and remember all those whom God has sent to us to teach and help us to understand the gifts our Lord provides and continues to bless us with. As from the beginning of searching for meaning in our lives it is true today that our faith leads us into a stronger relationship with God. As we experience the events that test us and comfort us the one constant is God’s presence in our lives. From the days of the old testament God sent to us prophets to provide the word of God, to guide and teach us about the expectations God has for us in this life. We continue to receive the evidence of Jesus’s presence and mission as assurance that our savior is with us always. With all the confusion and stress we are dealing with today, in our concern for the pandemic, social injustice and our worship routines the temptation to just throw up our hands and surrender to depression is tempting however, our deep faith returns us to the true resolution of all these challenges. When we accept God’s love and truly give our concerns, confusions along with our hopes and dreams to Him the future will bring us peace. Some might be still a bit cautious as to our place in this dynamic but John reminds us “See what love the Father has given us, that we are called children of God; and that is what we are.” In this truth we are blessed and comforted so we can reach out and comfort others. God’s love for us is reflected in the words spoken to the crowds in Matthew “when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
    “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
    “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
    “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
    “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”

    The one important lesson I have learned is that God is not found in flying away or hiding out. Instead, the Holy Spirit stands with us in the midst of the horrors, the pain, and the uncertainty, giving us the grace to persevere. This message is continually repeated throughout scripture in the stories of the prophets and saints as they persevered against hard times and mistreatment.

    My prayers for us all is that the Holy Spirit continues to fill us with the assurance that we are never alone or forgotten. May our hearts be filled to overflowing and our love light the way for us to find peace.

    Rev John

  • Sermon – November 1, 2020

    Sermon – November 1, 2020

    All Saints Sunday
    Year A
    November 1, 2020

    First Lesson: Revelations 7:9-17
    Psalm 34:1-10-22
    Second Lesson: 1 John 3:1-3
    Matthew 5:1-12

    The Collect

    Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

    Blessed—-Happy 

    We come together today to remember All the Faithfully Departed those known and unknown to us, and All of them are in the company of Heaven, they are standing around the throne.

     In our reading of Revelations, they were singing “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

    The Gospel:
    Matthew 5:1-12

    Our Gospel lesson on the Beatitudes and just like Moses, Jesus ascends a mountain to begin his teaching, and His disciples gather around him. 

    Blessed means happy or satisfied. Jesus describes each beatitude and what they would mean to them, the promise of God’s comfort in the coming age. 

    He offers and instructs them on God’s promise, and lets his followers know the ways that God wants them and US to live, and a world that God wants us to work toward.

    Jesus centers on those who suffer, those who remain faithful, when we facing hardship, and like the pandemic, we have been facing for 9 months. Reminding us about compassion and care for others.   

    I have been thinking about Happiness lately! 

    Am I happy with the current situation? I feel like no matter how hard everyone tries; nothing is getting better. 

    My niece and her family live in Washington state. They have a photography business and like so many, they had their struggle’s. After months of struggling and barly hanging on, eventually, were able to start booking sessions. They also started a boutique and recently got their business license.  

    I responded to great! Good for you! I said, you know there are always things in life that we can’t change, but we can still find beauty and blessings in everyday things.  

    Yes, I too had what’s called… COVID-19 fatigue!!! I am sure you all do too.

    We are going to get through this together, this is what God has been preparing us for and he wants us to have faith, and know that, when we feel like the world has been turned upside down…we remain right side up, we can remain optimistic. 

    Look for the Beauty and Blessings in everyday things!

    In less than one month, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, a time when we gather with our families and friends. 

    Yet one more challenge we face during this time. What is the holiday going to look like in 2020.

    The answer depends on you, how blessed or happy are you? Are you only going to feel blessed that day?

    Ask yourself now, when we feel so uncertain, are you still blessed (Happy) everyday! 

    No matter how you spend your day, Thanksgiving is still a special day to stop and reflect on everything we are grateful for.

    I will be thankful, blessed and happy for my family, friends and how all of them make my life richer throughout the year.

    Blessed and Happiness are not identical, but they can be one in the same.

    As we remember today and celebrate the Feast of All Saints, we are called to give thanks to God for the blessings that the saints before us have given to the church, as well as many of blessings God has given to us.    

    Let us not lose sight of the fact that today, God is calling us to bear witness to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is a place that all of us can come to know. The Kingdom of God shines through when we pray for those who hate us and want to destroy us.

    When we pray and help those in need and those less fortunate then we are.

    The Good News is God’s Kingdom, it is built for all of us and all of the Saints are around the throne are singing.

     “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

    Amen
    The Reverend Lola Culbreath

  • Sermon – October 18, 2020

    Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

    Today we hear the results of impatience and selfishness. The people of Israel have been saved from slavery and are being led to the land God promised them. But they are not satisfied with the time it is taking to get there. They see through their impatience a delay in what they were promised so they turn away from their faith. Moses is made aware of their precarious acts and what God has determined will be the punishment for their actions. How disappointed could Moses have been after all the effort and blessings God had provided and now the result of their acts spelled destruction for them all. But Moses, rather than just standing by and watching this take place spoke to God to ask forgiveness for these acts. He reminded God of His promise. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people. Moses had faith that empowered him to act on behalf of those who chose the wrong path. His courage and love kept the path toward salvation and peace available for us even after we make wrong decisions. Todays gospel reminds us also that when the invitation is made to come and enjoy the celebration of Gods acceptance we can either accept and enjoy or choose to ignore and become lost in the social distractions layed before us. In this time of pandemic, social injustice and deepening fear for the future we are faced with the decision. Do we, as Moses did, reach out to ask for our brothers and sisters a second chance of God’s forgiveness and love or do we ignore the issues and close our eyes to the loss of their souls. We are the path God provides for all of His children and hopes they will select. And our efforts are what informs and reminds those seekers of the path leading to redemption and love.

    My prayers for us all today is that even when we are uncertain of the outcome, our efforts shall always be directed towards the path affirming God’s love for us and is something we can bravely share with all those we touch.

    Rev John

  • Sermon – October 11, 2020

    Sermon – October 11, 2020

    Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost:
    October 11, 2020

    First Reading: Exodus 32:1-14
    Psalm 106:1-6,19-23
    Second Reading: Philippians 4:1-9
    Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

    Collect:

    Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen

    Salvation and Joy
    Gospel
    Matthew 22:1-14    

    Jesus has been in Jerusalem; he had entered into the temple and had driven out those who were buying and selling in the temple and reminded them…. this was a place for prayer. 

    The crowds were yelling Jesus from Nazareth also Hosanna to the Son of David (Matt 21: 9-10) He was teaching and healing in the temple and had upset the Chief Priest and Scribes…what authority do you have? They asked.

    He had left for one night and went out into Bethany and the next day went back to the Temple. He had more questions from the Chief Priests and the Pharisees…they heard all about the healing that was going on and they had listened to his Parables. When they realized he was talking about them, they wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowds. (Matt 21:45-46)

    Jesus had more parables, saying “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son”. (Matt 22: 1-14)

    Matthew is a gospel writer that believes that Jesus is God himself, he is the God of Israel. Matthew’s argument is in effect, if Jesus is “God with us” then his presence sanctifies the labors of those who work to serve him, even on the sabbath. Indeed, if Jesus is “God with us,” then his personal presence now takes the place of the Temple where the presence of God was formerly thought to dwell. (pg. 45 Reading Backwards)

    Salvation:

    Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a wedding banquet and God is inviting us to come. The wedding banquet was ready…he found out who his true friends were, he discovered that his true friends, were not friends at all.

    The King had sent slaves out to invite all his friends…they didn’t come, they all had excuses, he sent more slaves out and told them to invite everyone they see.

    Refusal to come to the wedding banquet is refusing God, your refusing to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, even though we all have been invited.  

    We are all welcome to come to the banquet, the rich, the poor everyone is welcome good and bad. God says you are all welcome at my table.

    This is about our salvation, we have been saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We have been given salvation. In our baptism, we have been given the inward spiritual grace in union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family and the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirt.

    The King represents God, who asks each and every one of us to come into his kingdom, it does not matter what we did in our life or who we are and he is telling us that the kingdom of heaven is for everyone. 

    So, you wonder why did the king throw out the one guest that didn’t have a robe on, when he says we are all invited?  It’s because he had not given his life to Jesus.

    We are told in scriptures that after we except Christ we are given the robe of salvation and we have a choice to except Christ and to go to the heavenly banquet

    Philippians 4:1-9 

    Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

    And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

    Oh, my friends. if the world could remember these verses how much easier our lives would be.

    We have Paul speaking to the Philippians from prison, there is a disagreement between two women if it’s not addressed it could be a disaster.

    Separate yourselves from worldly concerns and engage yourselves in God’s work and God will supply you with your every need. We live in such a polarized world, political, social and economics. Everyone needs to turn back to God and “Give thanks in all circumstances”.

    “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.”

    Conclusion:

    The message is about both God’s grace and the gratitude of those that God invites to Him. Why did the original guests neglect their invitation? The original guests represented the Jews.

    Jesus came to His own people and His own people would not receive Him. Maybe they followed their will and not God’s will. Let’s ask ourselves, where we are in doing God’s will versus our own will?

    God ask us to reach out to the last, the least and the lost!

    Matthew explains why God turned from the Jews and gave the promise of salvation to the Gentiles.

    The early church got the message, the same can happen to us. The kingdom of God is within a reach, the table is ready, the banquet hall must be filled.  God is giving us a choice to come to the wedding and join in the heavenly banquet.  

    “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

    My Friends, scriptures tell us to give thanks in all circumstances!

    And

    Rejoice in the Lord always! No matter what, be Joyful, be Happy and give Thanks!

    Amen
    The Rev. Lola Culbreath